Christmas Isn't Always Horrible
by Spherically Adept
Summary: Because surprises can come from anywhere ne? Izaya should never have underestimated the human race.


Hey~ So this is Bree again. Durarara doesn't have enough fics so here's to Christmas :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara

**R&R please~~**

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He absolutely hated the holiday season. It was the most hideous time of year filled with too much fake cheer and crushing disappointment.

Standing in front of his large glass wall, Izaya felt his face twist into one of his rare frowns as he watched the humans he loved so much frolic in twos and threes on the streets below. It wasn't that he no longer enjoyed observing their fascinating demoralizing actions. There was just something...vile about the holiday cliches of joyous family reunions and love for all. Hell, even the gangs stopped acting up as soon as holidays rolled around!

Seeking to distract himself from his melancholy, Izaya looked down for a moment longer before lifting his eyes to the jewel studded Tokyo skyline. Normally, the twinkling lights had a soothing quality about them; their artificial lives enthralling, hypnotic even. It seemed however, that Christmas had to ruin even that. Giant plastic wreaths armed with bells battled the infamous Fat Man Clad In Red for attention atop buildings strung with multicolored lights. What little space was left was devoured by obnoxious billboards advertising holiday specials. All in all, the resultant scene was rather sickening to watch.

He knew, however, that somewhere out there- probably not too far away- some poor chap was ending their miserable life; driven over the edge by the jealous loneliness that holidays always intensified. Such horrible news usually brought a smile to his face. Tonight, however, the grim knowledge that suicide rates increased around Christmas failed to mitigate his irritation. Snorting in distaste, Izaya pivoted away from the window to collapse into his favorite swivel chair, sending it spinning. Tipping his head back, the sadistic informant glowered at the gyrating florescent lights above him before slapping his hand over his eyes.

Why society took these western holidays so seriously was beyond him. Why anyone would willingly add another day of stress and high expectations to their lives was equally beyond him. Perhaps people were more masochistic than he had originally thought.

Stopping his chair with his foot, Izaya lifted his hand halfheartedly to glare at his traitorously silent phone, nearly groaning in frustration when it refused to ring. Sighing deeply, the brunette momentarily considered turning in early before pushing himself out of the chair, swiping his phone off its charger, and striding out the door, leaving it to slam behind him.

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In amazingly little time, Izaya began to feel another emotion he rarely felt: regret. The floor of his beloved urban jungle had contracted some sort of ostentatious LED disease. Everywhere he turned, the landscape was glowed unnatural shades primary colors. Trees had been reduced to gaudy displays of hued light weighed down with glittery bulbous tumors. Store fronts could barely been seen behind the barrage of wire reindeer and piles of too-perfectly-wrapped fake presents. Christmas trees dotted the surroundings like chicken pox. Even humans sprouted flashing hats and antlers!

Blinded by the flourescent pandemic, Izaya failed to notice that he had arrived in Ikebukuro until a vending machine decked with bows whizzed by, narrowly missing his head. Funny, he had not expected anyone to actually bother decorating those.

Stopping mid-step, Izaya fixed his usual smirk onto his face before turning to greet the man responsible for most of the HFOs (human flying objects) in the district. He would have been almost happy to see Shizou's ugly scowl had it not been peering out at him from beneath the infamous Santa hat. Was nothing safe from the holiday invasion? No matter; fighting with Shizou always calmed him down before. Today would be no different. Izaya opened his mouth to let loose his torrent of goading insults when-

"Merry Christmas you fucking flea."

-his mouth decided to hang open rather uselessly. Shocked, the brunette let his eyes wander between the semi crushed vending machine and a surprisingly calm Shizou before realization dawned on him. "Sh-Shizzy-chan, you can't be serious." Izaya stammered lamely as his brain struggled to comprehend the strangeness of the situation.

The situation became infinitely stranger as Shizou's eyebrow twitched at the nickname but nothing else came hurtling his way. Izaya, meanwhile, stared at his sworn enemy in silence until even Shizou began to feel awkward.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't care for you enough to buy you a vending machine. Your present is the fact that I missed on purpose." Shizou paused to gesture at the dented snack dispenser with a small inclination of his head, "Kasuka, though, was nice enough to decorate that for you so fall off your fucking high horse and thank him."

Dumbfounded, Izaya turned his silent incredulous stare to Kasuka (who was wearing a hat of equally hideous proportions. It was a hooked abomination adorned with small silver bells and pointed ears attached to each side; more commonly known as the elf hat). Kasuka stared back stoically before nodding, equally quietly. The trio stood in silence for a few seconds before Izaya found his voice and mumbled a quick "thank you". The words had scarcely left his lips when Shizou shook his head in disgust and turned to leave, muttering curses and death threats all the while. Kasuka gazed expressionlessly after his brother before nodding goodbye at Izaya and hurrying after Shizou.

Izaya stared after the pair until they were well out of sight before walking over to the dented machine laying pathetically on the ground. Prodding his "present" gingerly with his foot, Izaya felt himself visibly relax when it didn't explode or do anything equally drastic. Reaching out, Izaya allowed himself a small- but sincere- smile as he traced the stiff ribbon of the large green gift bow fondly. Humans never ceased to amaze him. You can think you know them inside out, and yet they still manage to surprise you.

Bending down, Izaya gave the bow a firm tug to separate it from the scratched metal. Straightening up, he stood motionless for a moment to admire the way the holiday lights glinted off the bow's glossy surface. While looking directly at the harsh LEDs was rather blinding, they melted together nicely into a kaleidoscope of soft pastels in a curved reflection.

Suddenly deciding that he'd had enough aimlessly wandering, Izaya turned to wave at Simon (because everything exciting seemed to happen in front of Russian Sushi) before setting off for his apartment at a leisurely pace. Humming a whimsical tune under his breath, Izaya was surprised to find himself much happier than he had been in a long time. The overall flashiness of Christmas was still irritating as hell but the peaceful spirit that accompanied it was bearable enough. For the third time that night, Izaya smiled as he glanced once again at the bow in his hand. Maybe Christmas wasn't so bad after all.

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If you're seeing this, then you have (hopefully) finished the story. A review would be greatly appreciated...thanks for reading!


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